Facing the Family History

By Christiana Cefalu

If you accept that history is written by the victors, then you must also accept there are countless histories out there that remain untold. This troublesome truth is fodder for artists in Performing Histories (1),the first in a two part exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York that will continue well into late summer. Throughout the collection of nine multimedia works, the artists examine, interpret, and reinterpret histories ranging from the personal to the national.

One bravely political work is Romanian artist Ion Grigorescu’s 1978 “Dialogue With Ceausescu,” a short black-and-white film in which the artist performs an imagined conversation with the former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, played by the artist himself wearing a makeshift paper mask. It’s a silent film, with the text of the dialogue superimposed on the split screen. It’s a bold and direct piece. This is Grigorescu’s personal attempt to reconcile with his country’s sordid past.

There are family stories told, too. In Martha Rosler’s 1976 work, “She Sees In Herself A New Woman Every Day,” the artist reconfigures her own personal history through her relationship with her deceased mother. On the ground is a grid of twelve photographs of the artist’s feet wearing her mother’s shoes; they were found while cleaning out her mother’s closet. While viewing the photographs, you can hear Rosler’s scripted monologue to her mother, whom we gather was abusive.

These and other works in the exhibition serve as important reminders that there are gray areas in history, when the “facts” are subject to interpretation, reenactment, and shifting storytelling, particularly as the years go by. To rigidly accept history as a single narrative is to discount the multiple perspectives that shape it, which, in some cases, can prevent future generations from truly learning from key events of the family’s past.

Which is why we urge Penta’s audience to visit the show. Anyone with irritating relatives, who each harbor their unique interpretations of the family history, can attest to the difficulty of aligning these disparate voices into one cohesive narrative. That’s particularly true when making big family decisions, like what to do with an inheritance, for example, or how to best pass on the family “legacy.” This MoMA show may remind viewers how important it is to accept ambiguity and multiple perspectives, because it’s precisely that richness of view that truly makes a family history whole.

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There are 2 comments

FEBRUARY 17, 2013 10:06 P.M.

TiredOfFlippingTheBill wrote:

We have a family history starting back in the 1800's. It was written by whomever had an interest to compose it. Usually no one wants to do it, so whomever writes, gives their version of history.

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Written with Barron’s wit and often contrarian perspective, Penta provides the affluent with advice on how to navigate the world of wealth management, how to make savvy acquisitions ranging from vintage watches to second homes, and how to smartly manage family dynamics.

Richard C. Morais, Penta’s editor, was Forbes magazine’s longest serving foreign correspondent, has won multiple Business Journalist Of The Year Awards, and is the author of two novels: The Hundred-Foot Journey and Buddhaland, Brooklyn. Sonia Talati is Penta’s reporter about town, both online and for the magazine. She previously worked for the Wall Street Journal and various television station affiliates around the country. Sonia has a B.A. in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an M.A. from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.